Parking Garage Death Lawsuit Settled for $700,000
DANVILLE – A wrongful death lawsuit filed against the city of Danville in 2006 was settled for $700,000, according to court documents filed earlier this week in Vermilion County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit was filed on April 11, 2006, by the father of Charles Christopher Gaston, 17, who was found the morning of April 5, 2006, in a collapsed stairwell at the city’s parking garage at the corner of North and Walnut streets. Mr. Gaston died of severe head injuries, according to a coroner’s report. The lawsuit alleged that the city knew, or should have known, that the stairwell needed repairs or replacement.
The court accepted the settlement between the city and the family on April 20, and the settlement documents were filed this week.
According to those documents, Mr. Gaston’s father, Charles Gaston Jr., will receive $100,000 of the settlement as will each of the other family members, including Mr. Gaston’s mother, Carol Barfel, and his two sisters, Monica Gaston and Mariah Gaston.
The settlement amount includes a $256,370 attorney fee for Kupets & DeCaro, P.C. in Chicago, which represented the family, and $43,630 in costs and expenses advanced by the law firm.